


Winter in the Bones

by GlowingMechanicalHeart



Series: Fictober19 [21]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Arya-centric, Gen, Hopeful Ending, fictober19, musings, post Battle for the Dawn, slightly melancholic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-10-28
Packaged: 2021-01-05 23:56:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21217163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlowingMechanicalHeart/pseuds/GlowingMechanicalHeart
Summary: And there were times, despite the water that ran through Winterfell's walls, her furs and roaring fires, she felt cold. It was like winter had settled in her bones.





	Winter in the Bones

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Fictober-Event, prompt # 26. “You keep me warm.”

The war had changed everything.

In many ways, Arya felt like a stranger in her own home. The burnt shell of Winterfell stood still, as it had for thousands of years before her coming and would probably stand thousands of years after she died.

But everything was different, she didn't recognize the faces who roamed the halls, the servants weren't the same, Old Nan was gone. Father, mother and Robb were dead.

And there were times, despite the water that ran through Winterfell's walls, her furs and roaring fires, she felt cold. It was like winter had settled in her bones.

She was grateful to still have her siblings. Jon, despite everything he himself suffered, was always trying to make her feel better, he'd still ruffled her hair and called her 'little sister' and sometimes would spar with her on the courtyard. Acting as joint regent for Bran, helping where he could and stepping back where he couldn't.

Sansa was doing her best to return Winterfell to her former glory, she was always running something, doing something. She had caught a glimpse of a tapestry Sansa was doing, it was her parents and Robb and she had settled down and fought back tears. Sansa had also been doing her best to be a better sister, when they had finally reunited, both had held onto each other and begged for each other's forgiveness and wept.

Bran did his best to be a good Lord of Winterfell. But he seemed burdened by the responsibility and his eyes looked almost sad. And she did her best to help him, to make him laugh and told him tales of her time in Braavos.

Rickon, he'd always be around Osha or would follow Sansa or herself, clutching and not letting go; she couldn't blame him, he'd been a baby when they all had been forcefully separated.

Now they all clung to each other fiercely, as if they were afraid they would loose each other again should they not. And sometimes, the chill would make her shudder at the thought of loosing her siblings again.

The cold that seemed to have seeped into her bones made her seek more warmth, sometimes she would share her bed with Sansa, something she had seldom done when younger, but now she liked and looked forward to it.

Another thing she missed terribly was Nymeria. In all her wolf dreams, she would always call her home, but days passed and Nymeria was still not home. Jon seemed to notice and would sometimes send Ghost to sleep with her or Sansa and she was grateful.

Tonight was one of those nights, she laid on her bed and Ghost jumped in with her. She smiled and scratched under Ghost's chin, “You keep me warm, thank you Ghost."

And Ghost did keep her warm, so did her siblings. It was one of the reasons she enjoyed sharing a bed with Sansa. And she knew that Sansa felt the cold too.

"I feel it too," Sansa had said one night after Arya had confessed about the chill. "When I'm alone, it feels like winter set in my bones. But when I'm with you, or our brothers, even those nights when Ghost sleeps with me, the cold isn't there."

Ghost licked her face and curled around her. And she did feel warm, she felt warmer than sleeping alone. But she was Arya Stark, she was a daughter of Winterfell, a daughter of the North, of the cold winds and the snow. Once she had never felt cold inside the walls of Winterfell, but now she was older and there was winter in her bones. But she was home and with family, throughout everything, they were together again, and she had faith she would be reunited with Nymeria soon. And little by little, they would all regain the warmth they once felt. She was sure of it.


End file.
